


You Deserve it

by ReloadTheWorld



Series: Tony Is A Helicopter Mentor [3]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Bullying, Confused Spiderman, Flash Thompson is a prick, Insecure Peter Parker, Lets give it a try, Other, Peter the intern, Self-Esteem Issues, Send me prompt ideas, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-10-20 08:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17618576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReloadTheWorld/pseuds/ReloadTheWorld
Summary: When Tony recruits flash Thompson as his intern instead of Peter Parker and...quickly realizes his mistake.... And everything that follows.





	1. Be my intern

**Author's Note:**

> HI. NEW AUTHOR HERE. First fic, EXCITED. Tell me what you think! Want a new chapter? Rewrite? Do tell! Also, I'd love prompt ideas! GIMME GIMME GIMME.
> 
> I'm also searching for people to collab with. Message me if you're interested!

A sudden familiar voice interrupted Peter Parker from his 4 mile walk home from Midtown high. His beat up sneakers slowed down to a stop, and he turned his head in the direction of the gruff tone.

"Hold on, wait," The voice huffed. "Pete? Hey kid, nice to see you again!"" Peter freezes, shocked. _'What is he doing here?'_

 "Um, y-yes. Hi, Mr. Stark. Nice to see you too. I gotta go now, bye." Frustrated, Peter tried walking past Tony, but he put an arm on his shoulder, immediately flinching at the contact, startled.

"Woah, woah, sorry for startling you! I just wanted to ask you something." Peter stopped in his tracks, his voice hesitant. "What is it."

 

"Well, I just saw your work at the science fair from last week- great job by the way- and I was wondering if you were interested in working with me in the lab again." Peter's jaw drops, surprised but at the same time terrified. ' _No no no I can't. He'll be there.'_ He thinks to himself.

Tony watches his face carefully. Shock, confusion, _(fear?)_ , doubt, worry, a millisecond of excitement, and an expression that could only be described as unworthiness. "I'd love that, b-but you're busy and I'm... I'd rather not waste your time... like I did last month. I have homework and stuff to do anyway and I don't want to bother you or FRIDAY or- it's best if I don't go." The kid stammers.

"You mean when you came in and fixed an entire _Iron man suit_ in the span of an hour without any blueprints or directions? Look, if you're worried about Flash, he wont be at the compound this week, or next week. Hell, probably never again, alright?" He could almost laugh at the look on Peter's face.

**It had 'oh shit' written all over it.**

 

 

"WHAT?! You're- you're kicking him off? Why? You CHOSE him as your intern! He must have done something re- ah, it's none of my business-...wait. Why would I be scared of Flash, Mr. Stark?"

"Dont play dumb, Parker."

"... I really don't understand what you're getting at. With whatever occurred between you two, I'm sure Flash would love to help you once the heat settles down. I really have to go now." The teen turns to flee.

  
_Iron man wasn't having any of it._

 

He pulls him back, reaching out to roughly grab his shoulder.

"Let me make it simple for you, Pete. I'm fed up with Flash's big asinine face right now. We both know what I'm talking about, dont we? And you won't admit it why? Hm, maybe it's because you don't want to get Flash in trouble; which I don't understand why you wouldn't want that after all the shit he's put you through!" He took an exasperated breath and continued.

"You're too soft, Parker. Your level of...whatever the hell you have would even piss Captain America off."

 

Peter spoke up. "He hasn't-"

 "Zip it, the adult is talking. Peter, what he does to you is unexceptable. He yells at you, insults you, hits you, shames you and you're just- just OKAY with it?!" Tony' face contorts in a mild rage. "Its downright disrespectful and shameful; I'm ashamed to even stand near the kid at all, so I'm kicking him off the internship."

 

 " That's not right, he only acts like that because I piss him off!"

"Yeah, you piss him off for being the smart, humble, compassionate person you are!"

Peter's resolve stumbles due to the sudden complement. "Flash has never done anything to me." He whispers. 

"Bullshit, absolute bullshit. Anyone can tell just by the bruises and the bags under your eyes. The world isn't giving you a break, and Flash certainly isn't fucking helping, kid. Admit it already. He's a bully, he puts you through hell and you're tired. You're exhausted. He's not a good person and he deserves to be punished for it,  and that's what I'm doing."

 

"But- how?-"

"I refuse to work with someone who laughs at a kid in his face the _day after_ his uncle dies. It leaves a rotten taste in my mouth; maybe my soul if I had one."

"Wha- how- h-how did you know that?"

"See, I had some suspicions when I met you, so the day you came to the lab I attached a microscopic camera to your hoodie."

"... Oddly stalkerish, Mister Stark. Er, what suspicions?"

 

The man's voice gets surprisingly low, and even with his hearing, Peter struggles to hear it. "I expected a kid who's been blessed with enganced powers to at least fight back against his own tormentors. You surprised me."

Peter completely pales. His face blankes. He blinks and sways and stumbles backwards, gasping for air. "You- you you."

"Hey, deep breaths."

"You- y-you. Oh my god. No no, no!"

"I what, kid?"

 

"Know I- you know I'm- that I'm- spi- no, no, please tell me you have no idea! That's so bad!"

Tony's face softens. "Who says me knowing your secret identity is a bad idea? I think it's great, gives us even more of a reason to work together."

Peter crosses his arms, wishing he could disappear "Why do you even care anyway? It's not like I'm your intern, or your friend or someone worth your-"

 

"Stop right there. That's what I was going to ask you before you had a mini breakdown, believe it or not. If anyone deserves a chance, it's you kid. I want to work with you. I want to help you, I want to know you and be 'blessed' by your presence. Just help me help you alright?"

"I don't need help, help Flash!"

"How many times do I have to say it, I dont give a damn about Flash!"

"Why the hell not, Stark?!"

**_"I don't know, because he's not you!"_ **

****

Oh. "Oh."

"Yeah right, 'Oh.' I understand this is a lot to process, but hear me out. Swing by the lab, it'll just be you and me. We can talk about anything and everything, maybe work on some stuff, watch Star wars; I'll even let you invite your guy in the chair. Sound good?"

".... You never asked me if you wanted me to be your intern."

"It's not a choice."

 

The Vigalent lets out a exasperated sigh.

"... Youre only offering because I'm Spider-man."

"Im offering because you're Peter Parker, a nice, humble, Goody two shoes bookworm who is also Spider-man."

"And what if I wasnt?"

 

"Kid, I'd take you over that brat anyday, now-" The billionaire gestures towards a dark orange Audi in the parking lot. "Get in the car. We got a lot to do." "But-" "May already knows, I have it covered. Also, you're not walking home anymore. 4 miles is too much, even for a high school webslinger. Happy will now be your official chauffeur, how do you like that, eh?"

 

Even after the tense conversation, a shy smile crawled its way on the boy's face.

"If you say so, Mr. Stark."

 

"You're going to go places, kid." He says back, buckling in his seat belt. 

"As long as I have people like you around, maybe so."

 

Tony tries to hide the smile that edges it's way into his lips.

 

 

_He fails._


	2. Helicopter mentor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony is a helicopter mentor and wants to protect Peter from the entire world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, more in store. Enjoy!

Tony sat in his office early Monday morning at 3am, resting his head in hands, frustrated. Cups of coffee littered the desk. His eyes were bloodshot, his heart heavy. "Give me his status report, Friday." 

"Okay Tony," The AI chirped. "As of the last time you asked for a status report, which was 17 hours ago, Parker has been under a severe amount of stress. He's only had 3.7 hours of sleep due to nightmares, with only 4 hours clocked in as spider-man. Shall I continue?" 

"What's his injury status, Fri?" Tony croaked. 

"Due to Peter's enhanced healing, any injuries he may have obtained are slightly-to-not affecting him at this time period."

"Yes, but has he sustained any injuries?"

Friday seemed to pause. "Yes. All of them occured at Midtown High School in Queens New York, Tony." Iron man pounded his fist on the table, enraged. "Karen also alerted me that Peter's blood sugar is rather low, suggesting he eat immediately."

"I should have kept that camera on him! Why is he lying to me, Friday? Why? It's been a whole month since he got the internship, and a whole month has gone by since he's even mentioned Flash or anything that's bothering hi- did you say he's not eating?"

"Stress can do that to you; you should know, boss." The AI sounded snarky. "If it helps, you agreed to stop tracking Peter as a sign of trust. If he has any problems, you said to come to him. He must think he can handle it on his own to not communicate with you. Just a suggestion."

"What- what should I do?" Tony rarely recalls feeling this hopeless. 

"I don't think I'm capable of giving you a direct answer to that. Try talking to him. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Night Fri."

"Morning."

"Yeah yeah."

 

Talk to him, huh? Oh he'll talk to him alright.

 

He'll never hear the fucking end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I should continue this story, but I dont know. Tell me what you think! Leave a comment, I love feedback!


	3. Struggling

Peter couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat- he could barely think. The only thing he knew how to do was swing through the city, save people.... and be a coward outside the suit. No one knew he was struggling- not Ned, not May, not his mentor. Nobody. And with that; he felt lost, (he knew he wasn't) but that burden was his to deal with, and his alone. 

 

It's not that he hated being Spiderman, he _loved_ being Spiderman. It kept him excited and happy, it made him feel _alive,_ but the pressure of being a super hero weighed him down- as did Flash's icreasingly violent taunts and his endless amount of school work. Peter had no idea how to deal with it all, so he didn't. 

 

He ignored it. 

 

When his body refused to rest, he thought of it as too much caffeine. When his stomach lurched at the sight of food, he played it off as a simple stomach ache rather than stress, and when the nightmares came... well. It was better to play as those didn't exist. So he suffered. And nobody knew.  Or so he thought. 

 ___________________________

 

After Happy dropped him off, he ran into the tower, bouncing on the heels of his feet. He rarely gets this excited anymore, but working with Mister Stark always brought a smile to his face. The past few months have been absolutely joyous; building suits, having intellectual conversations with his idol/  mentor. The world should have been looking up, but it was rather bland other than the internship and spider man. 

 

"Hi Peter." Friday said, her voice firm and crisp. "Today is Wednesday, October 10. Boss has been worried about you, shall I alert him of your arrival?"

"Worried about me?" He wondered. "Um, yeah. Alert him. Thanks Fri."

Now he was worried himself. Had he done something wrong? He was nervous to find out- but he was Spiderman. So he had to... you know, man up. 

 

Gaining his courage, he creeked open the lab door and walked inside. The reaction was instantaneous. Tony- his mentor, leaped out of the chair and headed towards him in three big strides. He look exhausted. Bags hung under his eyes, hair ruffled and matted, but his eyes were sharp and focused and he walked like he owned the place (technically, he did.). 

 

The man paused and simply looked over the smaller figure. His face gave away his intentions- he was either going to slap the boy or something else. 

It certainly was something else. Tony huffed, gripping Peter's shoulders and pulling him forward, wrapping both of them in a rather rigid embrace. Peter could have laughed, instead he let out a squeak. Looking past the awkwardness, the hug was kind of nice. Peter couldn't remember the last time he'd been treated like that in at least the past two weeks. A few moments later they both pulled away. 

 

"What- what was that about?" Tony's response was short and simple. 

"I put the camera back on you." _Oh._

"Oh." He croaked, backing up. "Oh, oh no. Why- I'm sor- why would you do that? I trusted you!"

"Yes, well, I didn't trust you... because you're you. And you're selfless. You don't tell people when you have problems. I know that because you're like me. I do the same thing. You may be annoyed at me and and angry and whatever, blah blah blah- but I did it to help you, kid. So now we're going to fix it."

 

"Fix it? Fix what, me?"

The mechanic clapped him on the shoulder. "EXACTLY! No, no. Just... rewire you. I want you to be honest with me, and you can't lie because I already know-"

"Then what's the point of ask-"

"When's the last time you slept, Pete?"

The boys face paled. "Um, oh. Two days ago, maybe?"

 

"Right. And how much sleep did you get?"

"6 hours?"

"3. You got 3."

"... Oh."

 

Tony sighed, rubbing his face. "Yeah, oh. I need you to tell me these things okay? I'll take off the camera, if you promise, REALLY promise me you'll do that. Also, take a break from Spiderman. You can't be a teenager and a superhero on 3 hours of sleep over TWO DAYS."

 

"Take a break?"

"Yep, two days a week, no spider man."

"That seems unfair-"

"Life's unfair. Now, go sit over there on the couch."

 

"W-why?"

"Cuz," The billionaire argued. "can't have a tired employee working machinery."

"I'm not-" He yawned. "Your employee, Mister Stark."

Tony chuckled, wiping his hands on his pants and returning to his desk. 

 

 

**_"You're right, you're more than that."_ **

 

 

 

And before Peter could ask any questions, the man got entranced in his work, and he himself fell into an unusually peaceful sleep. 

 

 

 


	4. Shook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why lie when you can tell the truth and be a good guy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how to feel about this one. What do you think?

It didn't take long for Peter to realize that being honest is very difficult. Since the conversation with Tony, things have toned down a little. He gets way more sleep then he did (still not a normal amount) he can eat without feeling sick, and he's learning how to manage the intense amount of pressure that comes with being spiderman. On the other hand, he excessively worries, and his issues with Flash aren't any better. 

The ex intern began cyber bullying the younger teen rather than abusing him physically, texting him harsh, painful words- the kind with rough centers and jagged edges. Words that Peter found hard not to ignore, not to get to him.

 

**"Ben died and he's not coming back, Parker.  Get over it. People die."**

**"Tony only chose you because he feels sorry for you, who wouldn't? You're the poor little No Parent kid. You have all A's, good for you- that doesn't mean your worthy of his or anybody's time, and certainly not mine."**

**"Whatcha gonna do when May dies?"**

**"You might be his intern but you're definitely no hero, Penis."**

 

He knew Flash was just pissed about losing his internship to the likes of him (dorky, nerdy, unwanted and unworthy Peter Parker.

Peter knew he could just block him and move on, ignore him whenever he called him in the hallway...but there was something in him that _wanted_ the negativity. Everyone was being so positive and supportive, he didn't deserve all that praise, did he? No, he just does what's right thing that's not praise worthy. 

 

Ever since his best friend Ned (and the guy in the chair)  found out he was spiderman, he's been keeping careful eyes on the teenage hero, and being twice as supportive as he was before. Ned always seems to know what his friend is thinking and tries to cheer him up with talk of legos and Geeky Spiderman convos. His Ant May has been...well,  pretty rocky with the whole thing. One second she's yelling at him for being late on curfew and the next she's making spiderman shaped pancakes for breakfast. 

 

And Tony? He's certainly grown closer to his mentor over the past month, from simple movie nights to Not So Awkward Anymore hugs, mini robot battles and several chidings from the billionaire when Peter is being careless on patrol. Tony's even helped out on his bad days- sensory overloads and insomnia, over thinking and all the _stress._

He mentions Flash sometimes, the man couldn't just forget his interns arch enemy. No, Peter would tell him small things, the meaningless things. It was about building trust; all their fun times. Though, Peter knew he wasn't being honest with his mentor and it tore him to pieces. 

 

One late Wednesday afternoon, the boy cracked. The day before had been absolutely terrible. From not being able to save a stray cat from a car on patrol to failing to have a conversation with MJ, the drawn out sleepless night and several tests he had to complete, he was absolutely drained. 

Even so, he allowed Happy to drive him to the compound so he could work on 'hero stuff' with Mr. Stark. It was the highlight of his day after all. For the first two hours, he was fine, happy even. At peace. He forgot about his worries and allowed himself to just relish in the greatness that is Anthony Edward Stark and his amazing taste in music. But then his phone vibrated. And vibrated. And vibrated. 

 

It vibrated so much it fell off the table with a sickening crack. Peter stared at the floor in total shock... but then Tony started wheezing; heavy, uncontrollable laughter. So Peter snickered. Then chuckled... until they both held onto each other for support, wiping tears from their eyes. 

 

"Who's spamming you that much, kid? God. Also, if that broke that gives me an excuse to get you a new one, eh?" Tony pats him on the shoulder in a playful gesture. Peter rolls his eyes and picks up his now slightly scratched phone, staring at the missed messages. All from Flash,  of course. 

 

**" You got a 70 on the math test? You're dumb as hell, Parker."**

**"Ned's only friends with you because he knows no one as pathetic as he is."**

**"So I heard rumors going around the school. About why Tony keeps you around. You suck his dick right? Yeah? I didn't think you'd stoop that low, Penis."**

**"MJ doesn't like you, hell, she likes no one. Give up already, we all know you like her. Why don't you date Ned? You're both compatible- both utterly useless."**

**"Hey moron, are you listening?"**

**"I'm tired of being nice, Parker. You're going to fucking pay for what you did, you ungrateful, smartass, son of a bitch! Nobody likes you, nobody loves you. You're the passed down trash people find in thrift stores. Liking you, that's a mistake. But anybody loving you? That's impossible, and suicide."**

 

Peter shook. His jaw clenched, eyes snapping shut, ears ringing, heart aching in agony. He didn't know what to do... but he did. _What does he do?_

 

Tony glanced at the kid, a worried expression forming on his features. 

"Kid?"

Peter took in a shaky breath, feeling the air exit his lungs and enter again, like a wave moving with the tides. 

 

"Mr. Stark...can I trust you?"

 

"Of course Peter, with anything."

 

 

**_So he did_**. 

 

  
"... Okay." The teen thrust the device in the older man's hands and teetered away, bolting for the bathroom. He slammed the door and locked it, burying his head between his knees. He breathed evenly through his mouth, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. 

Minutes passed. Nothing happened. Had he done the wrong thing? Was he right in doing what he did? Did Tony think Flash was right? He didn't know, but all he wanted was for the unease to fade, his heart to stop feeling like it was yanked out of his chest, the nerves to quit jabbing at his senses. 

There was a steady knock on the door. 

 

 

_"Hey, Peter? Open the door, yeah?" I'll talk if you do."_


	5. You Deserve It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One step closer to the ending!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL BE EDITED LATER
> 
> I'd like to thank all of you who left likes and comments, it means a lot to me! Anyway, enjoy You Deserve It! Leave some ideas for more stories in the comments, yeah?

The billionaire's feet shuffled next to the bathroom door. It had been 10 minutes since he asked Peter to step out and talk to him but to no prevail. Looks like his only option is to talk him out. 

 

_So he did._

 

"You know, back in my school days I met a kid, my best friend Rhodney. Treated me like shit. Absolute shit, hated the guy with a passion... And then I realized that he was only mean to me because that was the only way I'd respond to him. He was jealous of me, super smart rich kid and stuff. I wasn't very trusting of people, unlike you. One day I got really pissed and punched him in the face, turned out to be the best- one of the best decisions I've ever made." He chuckled loosely. 

"I'm not saying Flash secretly wants to be your friend or anything, no, I'm telling you to fight back. Do something about it. You don't even have to punch him, hell you can do that super secret shit where you set up a whole plan to mess with him, I don't know! But... but"

 

The door creaked open slowly until the teary eyed teenager stepped out and  glanced up at Tony, accepting his offer from earlier. It was only fair now. _I'll talk if you do._

"W- why'd you punch Rhodney in the face, Mr. Stark?" He asked, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. 

"We were kids, he stole my orange juice. That was the best part of the day for me, I had a right to be pissed,  dammit!"

 

Peter laughed wetly,  snot falling from his nose in the process. It hit the floor with a _splat._ They both made disgusted faces. Peter smiled sheepishly. Tony chuckled... And then they both fell over laughing on each other soon after, caught up in their silly hysterics. 

 

"Sorry about- about the floor!" Peter wheezed between laughs. 

"Personal maids, Pete. Personal maids."

* * *

 

 

"So, you ready to talk?" 

The two sat on the bathroom floor across from each other, their knees bumping together. Peter had long since stopped crying; he'd nearly forgotten about Flash in general. _Of course he had to remember again..._

"I don't know, I figured you'd yell at me first." He said meekly. 

"For what, NOT telling me you were struggling?  I mean,  you did. A little late, but I have no room to be a hypocrite." He huffed.  "You did the right thing,  and now we can fix it together."

 

"It doesn't need to be fixed.-"

"And that, is where you're wrong."

 

"Peter shrugged. "I blocked his number once, now he keeps making new accounts and I... can't block them. Do you think he's right? About what he said?"

"You mean the part about you su-"

"NO. Not that, just... I don't know."

 

"Oh Peter," He said, ruffling his hair. "No bud, nothing he said was remotely true, he was completely wrong."

"If you say so, Stark." The boy replied bitterly. 

"Look, I care about you, and I'm doing all this because you deserve it.You deserve my respect, you deserve to be spiderman, you deserve all of it, dammit! And you might not like it, but I have a plan to get back at him and it's better then the alternatives. It'll be completely safe, on my word."

"You respect me?"

"No shit, Parker!"

 

The young hero sighs, wrapping his arms around himself. 

 

"No ruining his life?"

"No ruining his life."

 

 

_There's really nothing else he can do but trust Tony, is there?_

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked his mentor the next morning on a 7am phone call. The nerves were eating at him, he had to make sure this was going to turn out successfully. 

"Are you questioning my brilliance?" Tony said, mock hurt in his voice.

 

"I'm absolutely positive. Its not like he'll know your secret identity, and if he does he'll be sued so much he won't even be able to afford to live in a trash can." Tony exclaimed. 

"Yeah but why would he care that I'm friends with spiderman? Seems like more of a hassle to me." At this, Tony laughed- really laughed. 

 

"Okay kid, you may not know this but Flash absolutely adores Spiderman. That's all he would talk about when we would be working on inventions, it was all about _you. Yet when he talked about Peter Parker..._ trust me, this will be a major guilt trip- and that is way better then any other punishment. It'll haunt his conscious for years."

 

"Look, just invite him to the tower, say your friend spiderman wants to talk to him. If he says yes, which he will, you tell him to meet him on the roof after school, since it's discreet.  You'll be dressed as spiderman, of course. And then boom, as spiderman, you ask him to stop messing with you."

 

"I don't know..."

"I'll be in the tower if something goes wrong, okay? You said you wanted to deal with the situation on your own, I'm letting you do just that."

 

Peter sighed heavily. "Okay M- Tony, I trust you, I always have. But... What if he asks me something unexpected? What do I do?"

"Like what?"

"Like... Why spiderman is friends with Peter Parker?"

 

"Then you tell the truth."

"But what would that be?"

 

Even through his voice Peter could see Tony's serious face appear; the one where his eyebrows pull together and his jaw tightens,  his eyes growing dark. 

 

"You tell him Peter Parker is a hero in his own way. A good person- a great person, the best person you've ever met or will meet.  He's like the Earth's sun, stars in the sky, all the flowers that have ever bloomed- you tell him you want to be like Peter Parker because that is the best thing anyone can ever be, and if he dares question you anymore then that, you tell him he fucking  deserves it."

For a moment, his mentor's voice leaks with emotion, but then he coughs. 

 

"Or something like that, I don't-"

"Thank you, Tony. Thank you."

 

A comfortable silence falls over the line. 

 

_"Anytime, Pete."_

_________________________________________________________

 

"Peter, what are you doing?" His friend Ned asks, tugging on his shoulder. 

"Just give me a moment. I'll be fine, I promise."

 

"Pardon me, Flash?" Peter runs over to the taller boy hunched over his locker. "Can I talk to you for a moment, please?"

Flash sighs, turning to the boy with irritated eyes. "What the hell do you want, Penis?" The teen takes in a breath, preparing himself. 

 

"You know how I'm friends with spiderman? Yeah uh well, he wants to talk to you, today. In private. No idea why, I guess I he just wants to meet all my friends or something, really cool guy. Maybe that and the fact he knows you're like a really big fan- anyway I thought you'd be interested so- so I-"

Flash's response was immediate. "Where?"

"Stark's tower on the roof, about 30 minutes or so after school. Tony already knows, he'll let you in."

 

_________________________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL BE EDITED LATER


	6. READ NOTES PLEASE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WILL BE HEAVILY UPDATED, NEED FEEDBACK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So this chapter isn't exactly finished yet, but I'm having some doubts so I thought I should post it anyway and wait for feedback before I completely finish it. I want this story to have a good ending but I don't feel like I can manage that without some criticism.
> 
> So after you read this draft, please leave a comment!!!!!

 

 It was exactly 3:30 when Flash arrived at Starks tower to see Spiderman.

Surprisingly, his ex-mentor didn't say anything to him, just pointed to the elevator and nodded. When he arrived, a hero in red and blue perched on the edge of the tower, his feet dangling off the edge as he glanced down, expressionless.

 

"H-Hello."

The hero looked up, and as he did the mask around his face wrinkled slightly at the edges, showing a smile.

"Hello, Flash. It's nice to meet you, Peter's mentioned a lot about you."

The awestruck teenager hesitated before sitting a foot or so away from his idol. 

 "He did?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. Not as much about you as people  he actually enjoys being around but, alas." Spiderman cocks his head and smiles wryly through his suit. Flash grimaces.

"With all due respect, why are you friends with him? He never seemed that special to me." Spiderman turned to look at him, and he seemed rather vulnerable: hands clasped together tightly, back hunched over as his eyes scanned over the several stories below.

 

"You say he's not special, but you want to be friends with him?" Flash nodded sheepishly, eyeing his hero. 

"Well, more like acquaintances."

The spider in red sighed, picking up a rock on the roof and casually throwing it, catching it again by shooting a web, and then dropping it again. 

"I don't think texting mean comments about someone's dead parents is a good way of making friends, Flash."

 

The boy paled, pupils are wide as saucers. 

"He told you about that?"

"Didn't have to, I borrow his phone sometimes when I uh...drop mine. Peter is a rather... reserved person- doesn't mention what's bothering him but... I just thought I'd do him a solid for all he's done for me, and this is it."

Flash nodded, slight guilt crossing his features. 

"I'm only mean to him because that's the only way he seems to notice me." He whispered. "I mean-"

 

"Have you ever tried being nice to him?"

"Well no-"

"Exactly!"

The teen sighed, rubbing his palms together. 

"I see your point."

 

They sat in silence a few minutes, just staring up at the sky. Peter broke the silence. "You really want to know why I'm friends with Peter?"

A definite head shake. 

 

_It's because I am Spiderman_

 

"I'm friends with Peter because..." he hesitated, trying to remember what his favorite person told him to say. The _truth._

 

_"... Peter Parker is a hero in his own way, and I respect that. He's... a good person- a great person, the best person you'll probably ever meet or will meet. He's- he's like the Earth's sun, stars in the sky, all the flowers that have ever bloomed. And- and I want to be like Peter Parker because, in my opinion, that is the best thing anyone can ever be."_

 

_The teen looked shocked hearing such praise come out of his mouth for the boy. But his eyes were wide and accepting; he shook his head with everything Peter had to say, and when he was finished, he eyed spiderman with so much admiration that it almost made him choke up._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment!  
> Also, make sure to check out my other work!


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